Friday, 19 July 2013

Vancouver: Jericho Beach, Suspension Bridge, Sea-to-Sky

Arrived in Vancouver, staying in a great house near Commercial Drive and E 1st Ave. Commercial is packed with bars, restaurants, and espresso bars, and is just a little bit grungy. It reminded me a lot of Brunswick St. in Melbourne. There was even a blues bar with great live music and an oyster bar: both of which made me sad, because they were awesome but definitely not kid friendly :(

Anyway, a few hours of daylight left on a super-hot day: to the beach! Lots to choose from, we went to Jericho on advice from people we were staying with, and it was really nice. The water was a much more human-friendly temperature than the California coast, although the water was a little weedy.

Jericho Beach

Next day: Capilano suspension bridge. We thought this was just a bridge, turns out its more like treetop Disneyland. It was fun though.

Cliff walk. Nice engineering

No fear here. Glass walkway (although the pattern and lots of shoe scuffs made it easier to take)

Suspension bridge. Serious wobble with this many people on it.

Treetop adventure. There was a woman with two false legs doing this, stairs and all, it was really impressive.

Then onto the famous sea-to-sky highway (99) towards Whistler. Amazing scenery on the drive, but impossible to capture well, since there is almost nowhere to stop. Grabbed a couple of photos from the car.

Shannon falls. Great spot for a picnic, and short kid-friendly hike to the falls.